Indonesia: 1 - Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Spice Islands, Java and Jakarta

Saturday, April 18, 1998

Indonesia has been very much in the news, with a forced change in President, riots and inflation. Because of this, some people have decided not to travel there, and as a result are missing a fantastic, safe, travel bargain.

Indonesia is a collection of 17,000 islands, 3,000 miles across, making it the largest archipelago nation in the world. It's 200 million people make it the fourth most populous nation in the world, with 60% of this population living on the island of Java. The hundreds of languages give an idea of the diversity of it's population. 73,000 sq. miles of reserves and parks help protect some of it's varied wildlife. 430 of it's 1,500 bird species and 200 of it's 500 mammals are unique, along with many strange plants and reptiles.

My wife Marilynn and I visited Indonesia for six weeks in April and May, 1998. In our travels we saw none of the problems, except on CNN. The life style of much of Indonesia has not changed much in hundreds of years, and these people have little interest in politics.

We started in Bali, staying at Alam Indah, a beautifully natural hotel near Ubud, the cultural center of Bali. The hotel is on the other side of the monkey forest from town, so we would enjoy a walk though the a forest alive with monkeys. Bali has had no political problems - a peaceful population are very devoted to their religion, making daily offerings on the streets and in their family temples. Life revolves around a religious calendar of events. The island is beautiful, and it is amazing to see the shrines, palaces and temples, which are everywhere.

We joined a "Bugis" sailing boat converted to carry a dozen passengers, plus tour director and lecturers. The Bugis are famed seamen and boat builders, for many years feared pirates, becoming the source of the expression "boogey man". For 11 days we travelled to remote villages, forest reserves and diving locations around the islands of Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Lembata, Savu and Sumba in the Savu Sea. Everywhere villagers greeted us with food and drink, dancing and ceremonial greetings in their various customs. Life has not changed much in many of these villages over the past several hundred years.

Each village has a speciality which is the main source of income, and all weave beautiful ikat fabrics, each with their distinctive designs. One fascinating village, Lamalera, lives by whaling. They demonstrated the technique in their open boats alongside our ship. Four men row, six paddle, one steers, and the harpoonist is in the bow with his fifteen foot bamboo harpoon. When they come close to the whale, the harpoonist leaps off the bow, and while in the air thrusts the harpoon home, landing in the water alongside the whale. Not an occupation of the faint of heart! They have two boats, so one can fish the harpoonist out of the water when the whale takes off with the first boat. The villagers then trade the dried whale meat with other villages for necessities..

Amazing sights on this part of the trip were: the komodo dragons, huge monitor lizards up to 10 feet long, who kill and eat animals as large as water buffulo; three brightly coloured volcanic lakes - bright red, green and black, which change their colours from time to time; and the horsemen of the Island of Sumba who performed for us. In Larantuka we observed an old Portuguese Easter ritual, where 50,000 Catholics from all over Indonesia gather for a mass in the cathedral, a ceremony in the cemetery, and a procession past 8 shrines along a candle lit route. Tens of thousands of people form a sea of candles as far as one could see, the procession lasting from dusk until 2:00 AM.

After the boat trip we flew to the Island of Borneo, where we boarded a river boat to take us to a lodge near the orangutan reserve of Tanjung Puting. The orangutan's here have become accustomed to people, and have little fear. It is amazing to be walking through the jungle and have a full size orangutan swing through the trees, land beside you, climb up and make itself completely at home in your arms. As these animals are up to seven times stronger than humans, when they decide to welcome you in this manner, your participation is not optional! We were accompanied by trained guides who could have sent the animals off, but we enjoyed being 'adopted', although my friend did get a little heavy after a mile or so of walking.

There was a lot of wildlife to be seen in this unspoiled area, where all transport is by boat, from Proboscis monkeys to exotic birds. The lodge served up great food, and it was fun to join the guides in a sing along at night.

Our next major stop was on the Island of Sulawesi. We stayed in a unique hotel on stilts in the harbour at Ujung Pandang, then travelled inland to Toranja, a spectacularly beautiful area in the mountains of Sulawesi. The culture was unlike anything we have seen before or since, with houses the shape of boats, and huge wedding and funeral services.

Funerals here are the major event, involving huge cost - so much so that in some cases the body is kept in a special room in the house for up to 15 or 20 years while the family saves for the funeral ceremony. The person is said to be sleeping for this period. When the funeral is finally held, it involves the sacrifice of water buffalo, pigs and chickens to accompany the deceased on his journey. Food and drink is in plentiful supply, and everyone is welcome. The ceremony can last from a couple of days to several weeks. The animals which are sacrificed are butchered and given away to guests following a very strict formula which ensures that guests of different stature receive their correct share.

While we were there a very wealthy family was preparing for a funeral. They had cleared land, built buildings for guests, and were expected to sacrifice 400 buffalo, not to mention the pigs and chickens!

The Torajans were a very friendly and hospitable people, ensuring we never were in want of anything while we were their guests.

The next stop was Irian Jaya, on the Island of New Guinea. We flew into the town of Wamena in the area of the Dani tribesmen. There are still no roads into this huge, fertile valley. The Dani men wear only a penis gourd, a necklace and headband. The gourds are grown on vines in the villages, keeping the cost of clothing to a minimum! Marilynn, at first, didn't know where to look, but it wasn't long before the friendliness of the people had her relaxed.

We visited a number of villages, where meals were prepared in holes dug in the ground, filled with hot rocks, grass, food, more grass, and more hot rocks. People have up to four wives, bought at the price of about five pigs for a wife. The wives work in the fields growing crops. We visited one set of fields by entering a huge cave, climbing up the inside of a mountain, and exiting from a small hole in another valley where the farm was located.

We were the only tourists around, and were invited to participate in singing, and traditional dancing. The head men of the villages still wear headbands with beads, one for each enemy killed in battle. Just recently the tribal wars were ended by the Indonesian army, and cannibalism was stopped.

We then flew to Ambon, and on to Banda, in the heart of the Spice Islands. Here wars were fought over the nutmeg and cloves which made the Dutch trading companies incredibly wealthy. We did our exploration on foot, travelling between the islands at different times by dug out canoe or open motor boat.

We visited Yogyakarta, on Java, where the huge Borobudur Buddist Temple, the Hindu Prambanan Temples and the Sultan's palace are all worth visiting. An outdoor theatre at the Prambanan Temples presented the Ramayana story with live actors, beautifully performed among the ruins of the temples.

Our last stop was Jakarta for shopping. Indonesia is a land of shopping bargains - a great place to load up on unique gifts, or simply things to pamper yourself. It is an incredibly diverse and friendly land, where unique and amazing experiences are the norm, prices are very low and one can travel in perfect safety and comfort.